


A (baby) bump in the road

by Briar_Rose7



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Castle, Dubious Consent, F/M, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2015, Unexpected Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 22:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5472335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar_Rose7/pseuds/Briar_Rose7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My prompt was "pregnant Belle, Rumple freaks out" so yes, that's basically what happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A (baby) bump in the road

**Author's Note:**

> My RSS gift for lovely becauseimjustmeandall. I loved writing this fic!  
> The beautiful cover art is from [ licieoic ](http://licieoic.tumblr.com).

 

 

 

When he woke up that morning, the first thing Rumplestiltskin was aware of was a terrible headache. The second thought that crossed his mind was that he’d somehow fallen asleep in his own bed. That wouldn’t have been strange for most people, but Rumplestiltskin wasn’t most people, and he had hardly slept at all since he’d become the Dark One. He didn’t need to sleep after all, and the few times he’d actually been too tired to keep his eyes open, he’d mostly just dozed off in his laboratory. His bed was a weird change.

What troubled him the most, though, was that he couldn’t seem to remember why he’d decided to come sleeping in his own room, or what had exhausted him so much to force his troubled mind to rest in the first place. 

The answer came to him in the form of a small hand coming to rest on his chest, and a warm body snuggling closer to him.

Rumplestiltskin froze, and time seemed to stop as he tried to gather the courage to open his eyes and confirm the truth that was already too obvious to be denied.

Belle was sleeping beside him.

And, as he could see when he finally looked at her, she was sleeping beside him _completely naked_.

Memories of the night before flooded his mind. He was working in his tower and Belle had come in to bring flowers. She’d tripped on something and in his haste to catch her he’d spilled a lust potion right onto the fire. He was still holding her in his arms when the vapors reached them, and by the time he realized what was happening it was already too late; one moment later, his mind was clouded and they were lost.

_Oh no. Oh no no no no no. It’s impossible._

Yet it had happened.

He really was a monster. He’d ruined her, he’d destroyed the only good thing left in his life. She would be disgusted by him. And he would let her go, for how could he force her to stay with him after what had happened?

_Idiot, idiot, idiot._

In his panicked state, it took him a moment too long to realize that his maid was beginning to stir. Belle slowly opened her eyes, a happy smile lingering on her face for a second until her gaze finally focused and her mouth opened in a squeal of surprise. She hastened to put distance between the two of them, still sitting on his bed and covering herself with his red bedclothes. A deep crimson blush was spreading on her cheeks and neck, and Rumplestiltskin couldn’t help but think that she was breathtakingly beautiful.

“What… what happened?” His mouth felt dry and he was pretty sure he’d lost the ability to talk. After what felt like an eternity he stuttered. 

“A… a lust potion. I dropped it on the fire to catch you. I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.” Then, after taking a deep, shuddering breath, he added “I’m sorry.”

Her embarrassed expression turned into one of confusion.

“Why would you apologize? It’s my fault you spilled the potion; I know your laboratory is dangerous, you’ve told me a billion times to be careful, yet I didn’t pay attention and tripped. We are in this situation because of me.” 

He gaped at her, her words so strange to his ears that he managed to focus on them despite having Belle in his bed and the memories of the previous night in his head.

“Yes, but… you're the one that will be regretting this. You can’t tell me the you’ll want to remember bedding a monster like me. If you want, I can make you a potion to forget everything about this.” He couldn’t change the past, but at least he could lift its weight from her shoulders.

“I don’t want to forget.” 

Her words hit him like a slap. Of course she wouldn’t want to forget, his brave, honest Belle. She wanted to go. She wanted to remember what kind of awful beast he’d revealed himself to be, and to avoid him for the rest of her life. He’d been a fool thinking even for the briefest moment that she’d want to forget and stay.

“I won’t deny that none of this would have happened if I hadn’t inhaled that potion, but you were under its effects just as much as I was; you’re not a monster. Running from things and pretending they didn’t happen never solved anything; that’s why I don’t want to forget. And in case you don’t remember and you’re worrying about that… I quite enjoyed myself too.” She cast her eyes down at that, biting her lower lip as her blush deepened; Rumplestiltskin felt like he could have fainted in front of her bluntness. She was brave indeed.

“So, uhm… what do we do now?” He was asking her because he really didn’t know. He’d readied himself to let her go, and now that it seemed she was going to stay he was at a loss of words or ideas.

“Well, for a start I guess I should get dressed and go making breakfast. Would you mind?” 

She gestured awkwardly, hinting at him that she couldn’t get dressed while he was in the room, and suddenly it was all too much for him. With a flick of his fingers Belle was back in her room, completely clothed, and he was still sitting naked in his bed. He groaned as he buried his face in the pillow, his headache growing stronger with the emotional turmoil. He had no idea how he was going to live with this.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin avoided her for the next days. He wouldn’t join her for their meals, wouldn’t come spinning in the hall, he even forewent his beloved afternoon tea. He wouldn’t appear even to scold her for wasting her time in the library or to criticize her work. All of a sudden, it was like he was gone from the castle.

Yet Belle knew he was home: she could hear him pacing behind the door of his room or working in his laboratory, but at first she decided not to intrude on him. He had every right to isolate himself to sort things through, after all, and she was too ashamed to break into his workroom after the mess she’d caused the last time, or to enter his own private room. If he wanted some time alone, she wouldn’t interfere.

Day after day of isolation, though, her resolve crumbled. 

She missed him. As much as she’d assumed he was avoiding her because he was too embarrassed to talk to her, now other doubts were taking hold of her mind. What if _he_ was the one who was regretting what had happened? What if he didn’t know how to tell her how disgusted he was? What if she’d ruined their friendship forever?

She couldn’t live with that doubt. So, on the fourth day of his isolation, she gathered her courage, prepared a tray with tea, his favorite teacakes and his chipped cup, and strode towards his room. Once more, she could hear him pacing inside, but when she knocked no answer came. 

“Rumplestiltskin, I know far too well you’re in there, so either you give me a valid reason not to come in, or I’m opening this door.” 

She was just about to storm in, when the door opened on its own, obviously under the pull of his magic. Rumplestiltskin was standing in the middle of the room, looking at her like a trapped animal. 

“Hey,” he said with a half smile, and all of a sudden she couldn’t think of anything sensible to say.

“I… I brought you some tea.” 

He nodded stiffly, and she finally stepped in, coming to lay the tray on the dresser. She tried taking deep, calming breaths as she busied herself pouring the tea, but now that she was seeing him again all the awkwardness from days before was coming back to her. She tried to block the flood of memories from the night she’d spent in that very room, and prayed to every god she knew that she wouldn’t blush.

“So, ah… thank you for the tea.” 

Deep, calming breaths. She could do this.

“It’s my job. And you haven’t been eating for days.” 

“Yeah, well…”

“You have been avoiding me.” She finally found the courage to look away from the tray and turned around to face him.

“Indeed.” He was avoiding her gaze, apparently really interested in studying the patterns on the marble floor.

“Why? Is there something you’re not telling me?” She took a step towards him. “Is it my fault?”

“What? No! Of course it’s not. It’s just… well, it’s not like you came looking for me in the past days, is it?” Here he was, back to his usual snarky self, attacking her to protect himself. “I assumed you’d feel better if I left you on your own.”

“I thought _you_ wanted to be left on your own! Rumplestiltskin, are you telling me we’ve been avoiding each other for no reason?” Could they really have been so silly?

“Well, I think there is a reason indeed,” he said quietly. 

She took another step forward and took his hand in hers. For a moment Rumplestiltskin looked like he was going to pull back and free it from her gentle grasp, but then he just sighed and finally looked at her. 

“Rumplestiltskin, I know this is really awkward for both of us, but I don’t want to lose you.”

“So fond of your monster, dearie?” He was still trying to hide behind his mask, but Belle knew better by now.

“Stop it. I really mean it, you know? I don’t want to lose our friendship. I’ve missed you in the past days.”

Part of him wanted to admit he’d missed her too. Part of him wanted to tell her that he cared for her, that he cared so much that he’d not found the courage to face her after that morning. Because had he not cared, it would have been easy to forget what had happened, to brush it off as an awkward accident and go on with his usual life.

But he cared.

And the only way he knew how to deal with that was to run away and hide. It was the only thing he’d always been good at, wasn’t it? He was too much of a coward to tell her how he felt, to tell her that he’d spent the last days pacing around feeling paralyzed and overwhelmed by shame, awkwardness, fear, guilt and, as much as he loathed himself for it, longing. Because he’d do anything to hold her in his arms once more, to kiss again her beautiful lips, to make love to her every day for the rest of his immortal life.

She’d run away from him if she knew about any of this.

But he couldn’t run anymore. He couldn’t push her away and let her believe it was her fault. He couldn’t put her through more suffering than he already had. 

“I guess there would be no point in having a caretaker if I’m not around to appreciate her work or check if she’s actually working. So, why are you still here, slacking off? I haven’t eaten a single thing in the past days, and I want a great dinner to make up for that. Be careful, because if your cooking won’t satisfy me I could revert to my old habit of eating bookish, pestering maids.” 

She smiled at that, a saucy, knowing smile he itched to kiss, and then she did something he wasn’t expecting: she hugged him. Rumplestiltskin went stiff as she put her arms around his neck, and tried at the same time to pretend he really didn’t care about her and to savor every instant of the gift that was her closeness. She was so soft against his skin, so fragile and pure, and her scent would always have the power to intoxicate him. How ironical that such a powerful wizard would be bewitched by such a small girl. Or was it pathetic?

Belle let out a breath she had not realized she’d been holding when he asked her to cook dinner, and held her breath again as they hugged. She’d wanted this contact, she’d craved it for days, but she couldn’t deny that things were not as they used to be; his closeness now threatened to awake her memories, memories that were so enticing yet so dangerous. But awkwardness was something they could overcome. They would overcome this and things would go back the way they were. Or maybe they would be even better.

Yes, Belle was sure of it: things would soon go back to normal.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin was spinning at his wheel, his mind strangely and blissfully clear for once. The voices in his head rarely left him alone, but he’d noticed they’d gone quieter since the day he’d brought Belle to the castle. He preferred not dwell on the reason of that.

Speak of the devil (or, rather, of the one who kept the devil away), in that moment Belle entered the hall, and Rumplestiltskin was too absorbed in his work to notice something was wrong. Had he paid more attention, he would have noticed that she wasn’t as cheerful as usual, that she kept casting quick glances at him, that her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Had he paid more attention, he would have realized she was working up the courage to tell him something.

“Rumplestiltskin…” Despite her best efforts, her voice came out terribly shaky, and that finally got the wizard to realize something was wrong.

“Belle? Is everything okay?” She looked so helpless that he felt a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and reassure her that everything would be fine. What a silly thought.

“Yes, I’m… I’m fine but… I need to talk to you about something.” She was standing awkwardly a few feet away from his wheel, and he got up to close part of the distance between them.

“Belle, you’re scaring me.” She finally fixed her gaze on him, her beautiful blue eyes on the verge of tears. He voice was so feeble this time that he almost didn’t hear her words.

“I’m afraid I might be pregnant.” 

Rumplestiltskin felt as though he’d been just slapped in the face. By a giant.

“You… WHAT?” She flinched when he screamed, and he immediately regretted doing so.

“I can’t be sure, but… there are signs.” 

She was crying now, fully crying, and suddenly part of his fear was gone, replaced by the sudden need to comfort her, to take care of her until she smiled again. She wasn’t sure she was pregnant, after all. Maybe it was all a mistake. Yes, it had to be. He longed to touch her, to cup her face in his hands and wipe away her tears, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He was stuck, incapable of helping her and exposed to all of his worse fears.

“What signs?”

“I’ve been feeling sick these last mornings…” He cut her off.

“You were sick? Why didn’t you tell me?” She hiccuped softly before being able to answer.

“Because I didn’t want you to worry! And because I knew what it could mean. I just didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself. Rumplestiltskin, I haven’t… I haven’t bled since before the night we spent together.” She blushed and cast her eyes down, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Rumplestiltskin felt what little was left of his heart stop. This couldn’t be happening. 

“I can use magic to be sure. To know if you’re really pregnant.” It could all be a weird coincidence. Well, a serie of weird coincidences. But it was possible, wasn’t it?

“Is it safe?”

“Perfectly safe, you can rest assured.”

“Then do it.” 

He waved his hand to conjure a vial, then took one of his hairs and gently plucked one of hers. He put them both in the vial and watched as his magic made them swirl around each other, until they melted into a luminescent blue liquid. Fighting to keep his hand steady, he lowered the vial until it was at the level of Belle’s stomach.

The liquid suddenly turned a bright gold.

He took in a sharp breath as the vial fell from his hand and crashed on the floor. Belle startled at the sound of glass breaking, but what really scared her was the obvious meaning of Rumplestiltskin’s reaction.

“That’s it, then. We’re having a child.” Rumplestiltskin, though, wasn’t listening to her. His gaze was unfocused, his eyes wide with terror. 

_A child. A child. A child. He was going to have another child, another child with a woman who would come to hate him. How could he have been so stupid? And what if she didn’t want it? What if she asked him to rid her of his spawn? What if she gave birth to his child and then left, wanting nothing to do with any of them? Because of him, another child would be left motherless, just like Bae. And how could he take care of another child as he schemed his way towards his first? How could he keep his baby safe during the curse? And what if Bae felt even more abandoned discovering he had had another child while he was still missing? He had two children, and he was going to fail them both._

“Rumplestiltskin…”

“SHUT UP!” He was screaming at her, screaming at the voices in his head, at those vicious whispers in his mind that had become so rooted in him that he no longer knew how much of it was the Dark One and how much was himself. Or maybe there just wasn’t any of him left, only the monster. He was just a monster… 

“Rumplestiltskin, please, you’re scaring me.” What did she even know about fear? She was brave and she was going to leave, and he would be alone and frightened once more…

“Rumplestiltskin, LISTEN TO ME!” Her voice cut through his panic like a knife, and he finally came to his senses. He was breathing heavily, kneeling on the floor with no memory of the moment he’d fallen. Belle was looking down at him, paler that he’d ever seen her, her cheeks tear-stained. 

“Rumple, please, you can’t leave me in this situation.” Because she knew he wanted to leave her alone in this; it was obvious from his reaction that he didn’t want this child, _their_ child. And the thought hurt her more than she thought possible. She had known for sure that she was going to be a mother for barely a minute, but she already loved her child and she already knew she was going to do anything to protect it, the Dark One be damned. Let him rage, let him scream, but she wasn’t going to let her child go. 

_You can’t leave me in this situation._ Rumple felt his blood run cold. She wanted to escape that situation, she wanted him to fix their mistake, she wanted him to _get rid of their child_. 

“No.” His voice came out horribly pleading. Belle felt her legs tremble and started to fear they wouldn’t hold her up for long. 

“No what?” 

“No, please, don’t ask me to do that. I can’t. Please, please change your mind.” That was it. He was chickening out like the vilest of men, begging her to erase what he surely only saw as a burden. She was disgusted.

“No, no I won’t. You are a coward, Rumplestiltskin. I always told you that you weren’t a monster, but today you proved me wrong. Well done. I’m only angry because I let you fool me for so long, because I was so naive that I actually believed there was something good in you. But no matter how much of a monster you are, I’m not scared of you and I won’t let you harm my child.” Rumplestiltskin felt his heart sink more with every word she spat at him; he’d hurt Belle and lost another child.

But her final words didn’t make any sense. 

“What do you mean? I’d never harm my own child. It’s you who want to get rid of it!” He was the first one to admit he was nothing but a beast, but he’d never wanted any arm to come to children, _his_ children in particular.

“I want… no! Rumple, I want this child. I really do, even if I’m scared. But you reacted so badly that I thought-“

“I reacted that way because I’m not sure I’ll be able to protect you.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but he wasn’t ready to share his story with her. Not yet. “I reacted that way because I thought you wouldn’t want to bear the child of a monster, that you were asking me to get rid of it.” He got up from the floor, desperately wanting to hug her as the faintest of smiles finally appeared on her lips.

“So you’re happy about this?”

“I’m not unhappy. I just don’t know what to do from now on; I’ve got too many enemies, Belle, and I worry that someone will try to use you or the baby against me. You’ll be in constant danger, and people will talk behind your back, will call you the whore of the monster. Is that really what you want?” He needed to be sure that she knew what she was getting herself into, he needed her to know about the dangers ahead, because he wasn’t brave enough to face them alone.

“I want our child. And I have faith in you, in us: we can do this together.” She put one hand protectively on her belly, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m scared, Belle.” This was probably the most honest thing he’d ever told her. He was scared, scared as he’d not been in centuries, scared because he once more had someone to love, someone to protect, someone to _lose_. 

“So am I.” She gently took his hand and slowly put it to rest against her still flat belly and all kinds of emotions ran through him as he came as close as possibly to his unborn child.

It was like something clicked: one moment later, Belle threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing helplessly, crying away all the fears of that morning. He cried more quietly, barely daring to nuzzle into her neck, gently stroking her back as he held her in his arms. 

He was still so scared, but he wasn’t alone anymore; maybe, this time things would really go differently. He could learn from his past and do right to this child and his mother. After all, he’d never felt as strong as he did with Belle by his side. She deserved so much better than him, but he would at least try. For her.

For them.


End file.
